Weekly Summary 1/25 - 1/31

This was a good week. Really good week. I only missed 30' of tri-training (from Wednesday's bike), and that's because my legs were shot, so I gave in and succumbed after 45'. Still got the workout in, but cut it short. I made the right decision, because the next morning my brick workout was awesome. 1:15 on the bike @ Normal power of 155 and then 2.5 miles @ 8:07/mile pace. I'll take that!

My long swim was good yesterday, too. 1:37/100y pace for 1800 straight. I pray I can keep that pace for the entire 4200y on June 27! I know it will probably be a bit slower because CDA tends to be rougher water, but it's a good place to start with. I'll have the wetsuit on, but still...the times I've seen in the past from CDA have all been slow, so I need to be prepared for it.

My totals for this week:
Bike: 6.58 hours, or 114 miles (all on the trainer)
Run: 3.26 hours, or 22.16 miles
Swim: 2.58 hours, or 9,200 meters
Core: 1 hour, or 2 sessions @ 30' each
Total Hours: 13.42

Next week is a recovery week. I'm done with the first three week base section of my training plan, one more to go. There are basically six blocks of training @ 4 weeks each. Last week was a bit tough, but overall I think I made it through the first block in good shape. This is the most training I've ever done early in the season like this, and I think it'll pay off toward the end.

Most importantly, I FEEL good. I feel strong and powerful, so if I can make myself think that, then that's all I need.

Week 2 Summary (1/18 to 1/24)

This past week wasn't that great. It started off ok, but then I got sick Monday night so spent all day Tuesday recouping from that, and as such, missed two workouts. In addition, I've been battling some shin splints lately. I pushed some runs to later in the week so I could get new shoes, which are helping. I also re-instituted my core routine, which was sorely missed and needed. Overall, I missed two swims and one session each of bike and run.

On the bike, I seem to have found my power. After weeks and weeks of issues with my trainer, I think I'm finally ready to roll. I shifted up to the big ring, but am keeping it on the low gears, and the power figures have gone up. Instead of averaging in the high 130's for power, I'm back to the upper 140's, with normal power in the 150s. Still lots of work to do, but getting there.

My totals for the week are:
Bike: 4.58 hours, 73.5 miles (all on the trainer)
Run: 2.78 hours, 18.75 miles
Swim: 1.5 hours, 4,900 meters
Core: 50 minutes (after I write this I'm going to do another session, so it'll end up being 80 minutes)
Total Time: about 10 hours. Not bad, but not great. It needs to be more.

I'm looking forward to next week. My goal is to stick to my schedule and start every workout. I also want to eat clean to support my workouts. The main key to this execution is going to be getting enough sleep at night, which means I will HAVE to leave work at 5 p.m. M-W (the nights I have evening workouts). I'll have to save extra stuff for Thursday night. Start taking it one day at a time.

Coeur D'Alene

I didn't realize just how busy you get during IM season. I meant to keep this blog up during my training for my first IM, but "life" got in the way. I don't think I regret not finishing it, but I do realize that it could be a valuable tool. I'd like to keep it up as I train for my third IM, Coeur D'Alene, on June 27, 2010.

That said, this season is much different than the past two. I've had a good season (IMLP 2008) and a notsogood season (IMLP 2009). In 2009, everything just never seemed to come together. I could never really get into that place you need to be to commit to training for 140.6 100% (or...at least 90%). I'm still trying to figure out why; if it was that work was stressful, if I was burnt out from 2008, or if I just plain didn't want to do it all anymore. As always, I think it was probably a combination of all the above that caused the perfect storm.

Part of my strategy to refresh myself for this season is to get out of Lake Placid. I think part of the reason last year was flat was because I had a "been there, done that" attitude, which is not good when you're dealing with 140.6. Call it the sophomore slump or cockiness, but I didn't have the sheer terror or intimidation of the course or the distance anymore to scare me straight. Since I had trained on the course a million times and done the race, it didn't have the same allure it did in 2008. I need to get that back in order to train and plan properly for the race.

So, I'm getting out of the Adirondacks and going to Northern Idaho for Coeur d'Alene on June 27, 2010. I think a change of scenery will do me good. It's a bit pricier, and my family can't come in the hoards they have in the past, but I'm really looking forward to it. It's a chance to focus 100% on the race and me, however selfish that may seem. The course has half the elevation change that IMLP does, so I'm dying to see what I can do on it. I think it'll be a really good course for me.

I've got 4.5 months to get myself into 140.6 shape. I'm doing ok, nutrition needs a little help, but it always does! This past week was a bit off because of MLK day, a sick day and a case of shin splints, so I'm looking forward to a good week next week. I'll hit all my workouts and eat clean. So...I better get off the computer and get ready for my long run!